


His Beast Hungers

by Noveletta14



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Body Horror, Injury, Kissing, Licking, M/M, Oral Sex, Romance, Rough Kissing, Self-Harm, Supernatural Bonds, Supernatural Elements, Transformation, werebear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-28 01:55:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30132243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noveletta14/pseuds/Noveletta14
Summary: Kieran wasn’t scared of Bill; he’d lost his fear of the big burly man for a long while. But on nights, when the moon was full and the horses cowered away from the barn, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t terrified.
Relationships: Kieran Duffy/Bill Williamson
Kudos: 14





	1. Sunset

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Red Dead Redemption. Story will contain, blood, gore and injury. Viewer discretion is advised.

Kieran double checks to make sure he had given the horses enough food and water for the night, and that each one of them had a blanket secured around them to fend off against the blistering cold. The sun is setting over the snowy pasture, the dark night sky crawling up from the west. He can’t see the moon, but he knows it’s there. He locks the fence behind him, and looks over to the big barn, a sense of dread creeping over him. The stomping of hooves makes him turn around and see that Branwen’s blanket and slipped out of place. He frowns.

“Branwen, please this is the fifth time.” He beckons her over and she shyly trots over to the fence for Kieran to readjust her covering. “I know you’re worried, but I have to go, I’m sorry.” Branwen nibbles on his thick coat sleeve.

 _“Let me go too.”_

Branwen’s soft voice hums in his head, plagued with worry. He strokes her nose.

“You have to stay here, sorry. Stay close to Brown Jack, he’ll keep you company.”

_“He’s scared too. He’s never scared of anyting’.”_

“Then you have to give him company, make him feel safe... I’ll be fine Branwen, it’s only for a night. See you in the mornin’.” He pats her nose and she snorts defeatedly .

 _“See you in the mornin’, Duffy.”_

Kieran allows a small smile to mold his lips. Branwen lets him go and he grabs the lantern hanging from a wooden post and the large heavy bucket next to it. He sighs, his misty breath escaping through his thin lips, and walks towards the barn. The night seems to follow him as he makes it to the barn doors, the remnants of the sun devoured by the dark night. He takes in a deep breath.

“I’m comin’ on in.” He announces, opening the barn door. The barn was dark with one or two faintly glowing lanterns illuminating the empty horse stalls and hay bales. The brighter light from Kieran’s lantern enlightening more of the large barn as he steps out of the cold and into the warmer barn. The wind quiets as he closes the door, setting his sun hat down and taking off his winter gloves. “Sorry, for taking so long, the horses were a handful.” Walking deeper into the barn, he passes by a saddle bag and a row of empty buckets. “How are you holdin’ on, Bill?” The lantern’s light combs over a large dark figure curled on a mass of hay, small blood droplets dark against the golden hay. The blue plaid flannel its wearing is ripping at the seams and the muscles underneath stretched taught like an iron cord. The figure gives a low grumble and shifts on the bed of hay, hat abandoned, leaving a head full of long dark brown hair bare. 

“I’m fine.” Bill grumbles beneath his breath. He sniffs the air and rolls his molding body over, greeting Kieran with pupils the size of pinpricks surrounded by dark brown irises. They stare the bucket down. 

“Take your time with this one, it’s all I got left. I’m sorry, I couldn’t hunt much deer in this cold.”

“That’s alright, Kieran. Ain’t your fault.” Though Bill’s words are soft, his pain clearly shows on his twisted expression as he sits up, the chains connected to the heavy metal collar around his neck, clinking together. Kieran hates the sight of the collar on Bill, but it’s necessary. Kieran places the bucket in front of the hay bed and It is instantly snatched up by Bill’s greedy hands and pours its contents into his mouth. Blood, slabs of meat and bone marrow caught between gnawing teeth and down a starving gullet. That bucket had weighed around ten to fifteen pounds and Bill was licking the bottom of the bucket in less than a minute. The empty bucket is tossed to the side and Bill settles back down into the hay with a groan. Bill wasn’t satisfied, Kieran knows that he is still ravaged by hunger pains of a grossly growing body. Kieran hangs up the lantern.

“I know you’re hurtin’, Bill. But you don’t have to be scared, I’ll be here with you.” He says, and Bill looks up at him, eyes worried. He shakes his head.

“You need to go. You can’t be here when I... Please go, Kieran, I-I don’t wanna hurt you again.” Kieran feels hurt by Bill’s pained tone. He couldn’t leave Bill, he’d become even more uncontrollable as the night progressed.

“I’m not gonna leave you alone, Bill. Gotta make sure you’re locked up and safe through the night.” Bill chuckles at his words, the sound faint underneath his pained grumbles.

“My safety? You need to worry about your own damn skin, you dumb idiot. You’re so stupid at times, Kieran, I hope you know that.” Kieran doesn’t take the words to heart, Bill would say almost anything to get him away. 

“Please, don’t worry so much. I’m better prepared this time.”

“Dammit Kieran, don’t tell me you’ve brought that goddamn knife!” Bill growls ferociously and snarls. Kieran fights the urge to cower, instead there’s a stutter in his voice when he speaks.

“N-no, I didn’t. I-I promise you, Bill. I didn’t.” Bill cringes at Kieran’s stutters and his expression softens with guilt.

“Shit, Kieran, I’m sorry... It’s gettin’ real bad. I feel it... I put my rifle by the barn door, and yes, I made sure to grab extra rounds.” 

“I’m not shootin’ you!” Kieran exclaims, appalled. Seeing Bill in chains was enough to make his stomach turn, blowing his brains out would be like carving his own heart out with a dagger. Besides, it would have done more harm than dispose of any threat. Bill groans loudly and collapses back on the hay bed. 

“Bill, we can’t fight this. It’s your nature, it’s gonna happen whether I leave this barn or shoot you in the head.” He slowly approaches the groaning Bill and sits beside him on the hay bed. Bill leans away from him. “I’m sorry I can’t stop this, but I’ll try to take the pain away.” Kieran reaches out a hand and strokes it through Bill’s course hair. He can feel Bill’s, anger, pain, and fear fighting inside him, he tries to soothe those negative emotions with his gentle tranquility. Breathing slowly in deep breaths he gifts his calmness to Bill’s turmoiled core. Bill relaxes under his touch and his groaning subsides.

“You’re too sweet for your own good.” Bill sighs and moves closer to Kiran, curling up next to him. Kieran can feel the shifting flesh of Bill’s back as something animal crawled underneath. 

_“That’s it, breathe and keep calm.”_ Kieran’s mouth is motionless as his inner voice speaks softly. _“I’ll be here for you.”_

_“... Without your knife?”_

_“Without my knife.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just an idea I had in mind and wanted to write something for it, may do something bigger. Anyways, hope y’all enjoyed part one.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	2. Moonrise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Red Dead Redemption. Story will contain, blood, gore and injury. Viewer discretion is advised.

Kieran keeps his breathing slow and heartbeat steady. Though no matter how calm he is, it doesn’t end Bill’s pained groans every time he takes a breath. His heated body is stiff, his skin pulled taught, as if it were threatening to rip itself apart. Kieran does what he can to keep him calm as he rubs Bill’s hairy back. The hairs are short but have spread far enough that they were peaking through every the massive tears in his blue flannel and brown jeans. Kieran knows Bill wears clothes on these harsh nights to feel more human in his shifting skin. Bill lays his head in Kieran’s lap as Kieran strokes his hand through his head hair, his usual balding non-existent in the mane of hair.

“It’s gonna be alright, Bill. Just breathe.” Kieran says soothingly. Bill’s chest rumbles deep and low as his teeth grind against each other.

“Too loud.” He grumbles, his voice deep and quaking. “Everythin’s too loud. I hear the wind howlin’ outside and the horses too, they’re movin’ around so much. It’s givin’ me a damn headache.” His nose twitches, sniffing as if he had just walked into a lavish bakery full of mouth-watering baked goods. “...I smell a lot more things too. Them horses for one, and the owls that keep piercin’ the rats with their claws. Their blood... I smell you, Kieran.” Kieran’s breathing pattern breaks when Bill rolls over to look him in the eyes. His mahogany brown irises are thin rings around blown wide pupils as he licks his lips with a pink tongue. “And you smell really, really good.” 

Kieran quivers as Bill nuzzles his crotch, his clawed hands reaching up to tug at Kieran’s belt and buttons, ripping them apart effortlessly. Bill’s tongue slips past his lips to lick Kieran’s navel as a dog would lick a chewed bone. The feeling of having a warm and wet sensation so close to his cock, makes him squirm and his insides buzz with pleasure. Kieran about to tell Bill to stop and come to his senses, until he realizes how calm Bill is, so solely focused on tasting Kieran’s essence that the pain in his aching bones is forgotten under carnal desires. Knowing the risks, Kieran nudges Bill away for a moment to lower his pants and spread his legs out. Bill is already putting himself in between Kieran’s legs and pushing him nearer to the barn wall. Kieran gasps as Bill’s slobbering mouth swallows his member. Bill hungerly strokes Kieran’s cock, with a broad rough tongue, and his frantic licks are rougher, making Kieran grip a handful of Bill’s hairs to keep him steady himself as a surge of pleasure builds in his loins. 

_“You’re so sweet, Kieran.”_

Bill moans blissfully and kneads his clawed hands into Kieran’s thighs. Kieran shuts his eyes as he feels himself harden under Bill’s tongue that was licking up all his precum; it coils around his entire length.

_“So, sweet.”_

Kieran moans when Bill takes him deep into his throat and sucks, the tips of pointed teeth grazing his cock. With his painfully hard erection clouding his thoughts, he feels no dread or the instinctual shock to pull away out of fear. His body is soft like cotton as he lets Bill continue to pleasure him. Bill’s moans vibrate pleasurably through his core, putting him on the peak of his climax. He comes with a loud moan, his vision turns blinding white as he feels his warm seed be gulped down by Bill’s hungry mouth. 

_“Tastes so sweet.”_

Kieran momentarily goes limp and takes time to collect himself as Bill’s claws dig into his thighs and let’s Kieran’s softening cock fall from his mouth. 

_“More.”_

Before Kieran can speak Bill pulls him into a rough kiss, pushing him up against the barn wall. Though he wasn’t sure if the action of Bill smashing their lips together as he shoved his salty tongue into his mouth to the back of his throat, nearly choking him, could be described with the word ‘kiss’. Kieran’s gasps and moans became mixed between their twirling tongues as his fingers found themselves entangled in Bill’s chest hair, kneading into the big chest and pulling at the long thick hairs. Bill grabs Kieran’s wrist and pins them to the wall as Kieran struggled to take a breath in Bill’s fervor to devour him the foreign tongue that filled his mouth felt like he was drowning on land.

Bill finally pulls away and Kieran is able to take a proper breath, both of them panting  
and the string of saliva that was the remnants of their lips connection snapping. The first thing Kieran sees when he opens his eyes is Bill’s gleaming red orbs. He was speechless, Beholding the intense lustful gaze that bore into him. But no, it wasn’t true infatuation Kieran could see, but a concoction of hunger and craving imitating lust.

_“Bill, a-are you there?”_ Kieran asks, his heart pounding in his chest and Bill leans in closer. The grip on his wrists tightens.

“Such purdy eyes you got,” Bill’s voice, deep and rich, is laced with the kind of grossly tender tone that makes him cringe. “They look so warm and smell so sweet... I wanna eat ‘em.” Kieran cries out and shuts his eyes as Bill forces his tongue underneath his eyelid. He wrenches his head away from Bill’s hungry mouth, his eye irritated and burning.

_“Bill, hold on a little longer, please.”_ He begs, trying to break free of Bill’s hold that is starting to pain his wrists. “Bill, l-let me go!” The fear in his own voice surprises him.

“Too loud!” Bill roars, snarling. He lets go of the wrists he nearly crushed in his powerful grip, but Kieran isn’t allowed a moment of reprieve. Bill’s claws shred through his thick winter coat like a butcher knife through steak, on an predatory mission to pierce fresh meat. In a panic, Kieran puts his arms up to try and reach Bill, but get caught between his slashing claws; he can feel the cool air on his arms as a large tear formed on his coat sleeve. A warm stream trickles down his arm after the chill breeze. 

_“Sweet.”_

Bill’s jaws snap on thin air as Kieran narrowly able to twist his arm away.

“Wait! Bill, let me—“ Bill growls, a horrifying rumble that grates from deep within his throat. His hairy lips rip crack and tear, twisting into a ferocious sneer to unveil blade-like canines and sharpened teeth. Every dang growing longer by the moment. An animalistic cry rips from Bill’s throat.

_“Goddamn idiot! You’re fuckin’ mine!”_

The fierce jaws latch onto Kieran’s quivering throat; Kieran fears those teeth now. Their edged ends digging into his precious flesh and taking his breathe away as they threatened to rip his throat out in a bloody was of muscle and sinew.

_“Mine to taste. Mine to eat.”_

Kieran screams in pain and shock as Bill’s claws hook into his back, the biting burn of his flesh tearing open shooting through his spine. Fighting through the searing pain, Kieran puts his hands to Bill’s head and steadies his breathing.

_“Bill, breathe. It’s me, Kieran. Please, focus. It’s me!”_ Bill’s growl vibrated through his clinched throat.

_“Shit! Damn you, Goddamnit all!”_

Bill unlocks his jaws and releases Kieran’s neck from his death grip, thin streams of blood trailing from his puncture wounds. Bill’s breath splashes hot across his face as he paints heavily, shutting his eyes and gritting his teeth. He buries his face into Kieran’s chest, his deep growls that terrified Kieran to the core, waning to defeated whimpers.

_“So-ry.”_

The broken apology is a faint echo underneath the discord of Bill’s morphing body.

_“Shit, it hurts, hurts so fuckin’ much. My head! Can’t Stop It!”_

His claws tug out of Kieran to burry into the wooden wall behind him. The sound of serrated claws splinter wood is ear-grading as they drag past Kieran’s head. Kieran reaches out a shaky hand and goes to stroke Bill’s back.

_“I’m here, Bill. I—“_ he pulled his hand back as soon as he felt the warm sticky substance coating the hairs on Bill’s back. His hand comes back stained with dark oozing blood and long dark hairs. Already too late. Kieran jumps with a scream as Bill’s claws grip his sides, but they do not pierce the skin.

_“Get away!”_

Kieran finds himself hurdling through the air as Bill throws him across the barn like a rag doll. Kieran lands with a thud on the hard ground, his clawed back buzzing with pain. He can only watch in horror as Bill’s body tears itself apart to remake itself into a being of nightmarish gluttony. In Bill’s frenzied terror he knocks over the hanging lantern, it shattering to pieces with its flame extinguished. Most of the barn is shunned into darkness, but Kieran can still hear the sick sound flesh ripping apart and gargling blood as Bill wails in agony. The chains rattle thunderously as his beastly screams shake the old barn’s hinges and stab Kieran’s heart. Animalistic roars and hisses screech from the darkness, but Kieran can hear the all to human screams in his head. A final wet rip cuts through the air, punctuated by a spray of crimson blood splattering the barn walls.

It all goes quiet. The only sound disrupting the still air is heavy panting emanating from the haunting blackness before him. Kieran slowly sits up, gazing petrified into the looming darkness. He swallows his fear and dares to speak.

“Bill?” His voice was no louder than the flap of a butterfly’s wings, yet it sounded as loud as a thunderclap in the eerie quiet.

A rich deep red, reminiscent of blood oozing from an open wound, is the hue of the luminescent irises which ring around slited ebony pupils as they peer through the devouring dark. A single word invades his mind, and disturbs his core with its genuine animosity.

**_“Hungry.”_ **

Savage maws lunge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	3. Midnight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Red Dead Redemption. Story will contain, blood, gore and injury. Viewer discretion is advised.

Kieran’s heart pulses erratically in his chest, his clawed back is pressed up against the barn door as he sits petrified on the ground. He feels a warm fluid trickle down the bridge of his nose and past his cheek. The painful sting of his facial lacerations had faded to a numb throbbing the longer he stared in at the creature before him. The chains’ violent thrashes are unheard beneath the cacophony of snarls and roars of the beastly Bear. His coat as black as coal with claws longer than hunting knives that savagely clawed at him, a slobbering maw snapping rabidly bearing his razor-sharp fangs, and piercing crimson eyes that tore into Kieran’s soul, eating it alive. Any remains of humanity lost in the raging deep red depths. Kieran doesn’t know how he manages to speak through the tremor in his voice.

“B-Bill, c-can you h-hear me?”

**_“H U f N lG eR sY h F bE oE nDe E mA eTa t B yL oO uO rD s”_ **

The garbled mess of what is debatably speech is a mind-numbing torrent in his head. He could just leave. The Bear couldn’t have stopped him from opening the barn door that very moment and going to give comfort to the horses that were spooked all to hell and weren't shivering from the cold. As preferred as that is, he would not leave the Bear alone. No, he would stay. He wasn’t going to let another Strawberry Massacre happen. Families starving during the deadly winter as all of their livestock had been slaughtered—the remains of missing loved ones turning up as a mass of bone and blood. The fear of not knowing if your children would be the next morsel snatched from their beds in the middle of the night to be devoured. The reign of devastation that would befall any cursed town would scar him more than anything the Bear could ever do to him. Kieran wipes the blood away from his face with the back of his hand as he stands and pulls up his pants.

“I know you’re in there somewhere, Bill.” Kieran’s voice doesn’t crack when he speaks. The Bear doesn’t cease its manic thrashing. “Underneath all that matted fur and muzzled face, you’re there, screaming at me…” He slowly walks over to the saddlebag and opens it. He gets teary-eyed, and his voice finally cracks. “I-I’m so so, sorry, Billy.” Ignoring the rifle leaning beside it and pulling out a recently sharpened hunting knife, the initials _KD_ carved into the wooden handle. “That I’m a filthy liar.” He forces his feelings of betrayal and dread underneath a cover of stoicism and cruel nature as he gazes upon the raging Bear.

“I know you’re hungry; you’re always hungry, every time we meet… You wanna treat?” Kieran flicks his blood-covered hand at the Bear, as soon as the blood droplets reached his hungry maw, he becomes a salivating mess of foam and drool. “Stupid question.” He carefully walks to the other side of the barn, the Bear following close with his every step, though the thick metal collar kept his claws from ever touching a single hair on Kieran. 

**_“H U N G R Y.”_ **

“I know you are. Here,” Kieran says, taking off his torn and bloodied winter coat, “It’s got blood all over it.” He tosses it at the Bear, who tears it to shreds within moments, trying to savor any lifeblood that had soaked into the fabric. Kieran brings down one of the faintly lit lanterns from up high, illuminating an old wooden barrel, and pulls it out of the shadows. It is then he notices the Bear’s guttural roars, and breathy panting has gone quiet. He looks over his shoulder and sees the Bear crouching low to the ground, leering at him with a grinning maw. 

“Good boy.” Kieran’s tone was akin to a trainer praising a dog for learning a new trick. He pries off the barrel’s top with his knife. Foaming beer sloshes around in the barrel as Kieran looks into it, seeing his own reflection staring back at him. The open cuts on his face still seep sorrowfully, a droplet of blood threatening to fall off the tip of his nose. “Are you ready for your treat?” He pulls up his shirt sleeve, deep scarring layering his arm in long cuts. He looks down at his scarred arm and grips the knife tighter. _Follow the lines… Forgive me, Billy._

The knife place slices his flesh, his warm lifeblood drips down his arm, and sinks into the beer, mixing into the alcohol, like a single drop of water in the vast ocean. The Bear is back in a frenzy, pawing and snapping its jaws at the scent of Kieran’s blood. Kieran takes a deep breath and continues, sinking the blade deeper into his flesh. He can bite back his screams, but he can’t stop the river of tears flowing from his eyes. His teardrops dripping into the beer along with his blood, darkening the alcohol a dreadful mahogany. He makes one last cut before pulling the bloodied knife away and washes its blade in the blood-filled beer. Blood pours down his arm in a never-ending stream into the beer barrel as he positions the bleeding limb over the barrel. _Shit, should’a brought a gag._ He holds his breath as he slowly sinks his cut arm in the alcohol to not make a splash. His open wounds cry tears of blood as they burned in the alcoholic mixture. He shut his eyes as he let his soak in what felt like a barrel of acid, biting on his hand to keep from biting his tongue in half. Just as slowly he put it in, he pulls his wounded arm out, holding it over the barrel a while longer to make sure every last drop made it into the mixture. 

He staggers slightly from the burning pain but quickly rights himself as the Bear’s exuberant cries reach his ears. He picks the barrel lid back up and puts it back on the barrel. There is a circular piece cut out of the lid, revealing the sickening mixture bubbling beneath. 

“D-done. Just the way y-you like it, my treat.” He picks up the barrel and brings it to the starving Bear, seemingly unafraid. The Bear snatches it in his ferocious claws as soon as it is in range, causing Kieran to fall back to the ground and rest against a wooden beam. He pulls down his sleeve and watches as the Bear lifts the barrel above its massive maw, guzzling down the concoction of acidic alcohol and bitter blood gluttonously. The Bear tears off the lip and devours what is left, coating the barrel's insides before crushing it to splinters. The Bear stares down Kieran with his hungry red eyes as he licked his lips and crouches low to the ground. 

**_“H U N G R Y…”_ **

_“Always hungry.”_

Kieran grabs his knife and stands back up, going back underneath the lantern and pulling out another barrel from the rows of barrels lined up against the wall. He prys the lid off the second barrel and pulls up his other shirt sleeve, an almost identical pattern of scars marking his arm. He grips the knife in his cut hand and makes another batch of intoxicating elixir. Kieran screams the second time, and the third, and the fourth, and the fifth…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	4. Moonset

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Red Dead Redemption. Story will contain, blood, gore and injury. Viewer discretion is advised.

Kieran is exhausted. He sits on the ground observing the Bear’s head, bottom deep in a barrel, and uses the fading remains of his strength to hold onto his knife, waiting patiently for the Bear to finish his current meal. Kieran doesn’t try to count the number of shattered or whole barrels littering the barn floor, empty of what gave them value. His numb fingers trace over the carved initials in the knife handle as the Bear finishes his treat with a satisfying wheeze, but instead of crushing the barrel or throwing it off its head, he collapses onto his side with the barrel still on his head. Kieran waits for the Bear to move any muscle or growl and hiss. He does neither, only heaves out a deep breath, almost like a heavy sigh, and give a short grunt. 

Kieran lets his knife slide to the ground with a sigh. He sits up, the small action ignited a fire over his open wounds, but that didn’t stop him from slowly crawling over to the downed Bear, his arms screaming at him to stop. He pushes the pain to the back of his hazy mind as he nears the Bear, keeping his distance but getting close enough to grab the barrel and pull it off the Bear’s head, rolling it away. He looks the beast in the eyes, its heavily dilated eyes, the pupils the size of dinner plates, making his appear like the black beads a toymaker would use for a child’s teddy bear. The Bear lazily sniffs the air, not putting in the effort to move its head to view Kieran properly. Kieran gives a mediocre take on a chuckle.

_“Hi there,”_ Kieran’s voice shows his tiredness and weakened state; he shakily reaches out a hand and gently strokes the Bear’s massive head. The fur is comfortably soft under his palm, even with the blood matted into the long dark hairs. _“Feel better, Billy?”_ the Bear grunts and tilts his great head into Kieran's touch, his long tongue trying to lap at the raw flesh on his arm. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need Kieran to understand his hunger mainly was satiated. Kieran went to take the weight off the arm, holding him up, but pain and blood loss got to him first. His head spins in a daze as he falls over onto the ground. Too exhausted and pained, Kieran doesn't get back up or move. 

The Bear is not as lethargic as he seems, rolling himself over onto his bloated stomach. He sniffs Kieran’s outstretched hand was a wet nose. Kieran doesn’t react when the Bear reaches out his paw towards him and shows no fear as a claw catches onto his blood-stained shirt and drags him closer to a drooling mouth. 

He is motionless as the Bear pulls him into its grasp, laying on top of one of the beast's front arms as the other rests over his stomach. Warm breath tickles his neck and face as the Bear investigates his scent further, bringing out his tongue to lick his neck, the moist muscle sliding up to caress the claw marks claiming his nose and cheek. He licks the wound tenderly, a soft rumble vibrating from his throat.

**“Sweet.”**

The Bear moves slowly, sitting up on its rear and cradling Kieran in his hulking furry arms, Kieran’s vision is blurry, but he can make out the black eyes looking down at him.

**“My sweetness.”**

The Bear coos and rolls onto his back, Kieran wrapped in his grasp. Kieran lays on the Bear’s massive chest, relishing the softness of his coat and sinking into the warm fur. The Bear moans sweetly in his ear and can hardly feel the tongue lapping at the cuts on his arm, feeling no pain as it slithers deep into the red wounds. Kieran closes his eyes and lets himself fall into peaceful oblivion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	5. Sunrise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Red Dead Redemption. Story will contain, blood, gore and injury. Viewer discretion is advised.

Bill awakes with blurry vision and a pounding head. It is uncomfortably hot wherever he is, and his body aches to the core. A ray of light blinds him when he lifts his head; he shies away from the brightness, and reflexivity lifts his arm to protect his eyes. However, it is weighed down by a blanket of dark fur. There is a moment where Bill internally panics before the fur blanket falls away to reveal his human hand. It clicks in his head the second his eyes adjust to the light. It had been one of those nights when the moon was full, haunting in the night sky, and his heart was swallowed by an insatiable hunger. The barn is marked with the beast's claws, and the ground is covered in wooden splinters and dark maroon substance. _Blood._ He finally registers the heavy form pressed up against his worn body; when he looks down, a strike of horror grips his heart. 

Kieran lays pale and motionless against his chest, body overtaken by raw fleshy wounds that scarred his being and stopped Bill’s heart. His breath shutters, and he wants to scream, but he makes no sound. In disbelief, Bill lowers a hand to Kieran’s neck, making sure not to touch the skin ruined by savage claws. He notices the dried blood clumped under his fingernails, and they touch ghostly pale skin. Finding a meek and terrified voice, he whispers:

“Kieran?” 

Kieran moves, slowly opening his eyes, his beautiful green eyes. Those deep green eyes flutter at him tiredly as a soft smile curves Kieran’s lips.

“Good mornin’, Billy.” He says in a tone sweeter than honey. Bill can’t help but smile back, a wave of soothing relief washing over him as he wraps his arms around Kieran in a hug to soak in his warmth. However, the sensation of his naked leg slung over Kieran’s bare skin makes him slink away in guilt. He feels even more shame when he sees that Kieran is only wearing a ripped shirt on his wounded form. What a monster he was.

“Did I... Did we go at it last night?” Bill asks, ashamed, gesturing downwards. Kieran chuckles lightly in response. “What?”

“Just wasn’t ready for that to be your mornin’ greetin’ is all. No, we didn’t; bears don’t mate in the winter, that’s in the summertime.”

“Then why you got only a shirt on?”

“It got hot... and you may have got a little handsy, but it was nothin’ we haven’t done before.” Bill would have slapped himself across the face if he could have.

“Shit! Sorry, Kieran. I—“

“No need for sorrys, Bill. It wasn’t anythin’ bad; it felt real nice, actually. Last night was one of the better nights; the Bear barely clawed me at all.” He strokes Bill’s chest as a comforting gesture, but all Bill can focus on are Kieran’s arms.

“Your arms are tellin’ me somethin’ else. Damn, how deep did its claws get you? We need to get you bandaged up and put some of that alcohol medicine on them cuts.” Kieran stiffens, and his gaze drifts lower.

“Bill... Those weren’t done by claws.” 

“What? Kieran, you said that you didn’t bring your knife, you promised.” Bill is more hurt than angry, and it’s heard in his shaky voice. “You have to stop hurtin’ yourself like this. It ain’t right. You’ll cut too deep one day and bleed out, and that monster will get what’s left of you. Waking up to a corpse is horrible enough; I don’t wanna wake up with just a head in my lap. How am I supposed to live after that?”

“Bill, please, calm down,” Kieran interjects and caresses Bill’s heated cheek. “You’re right, I-I shouldn’t be doin’ it, and I don’t like doin’ it... But I don’t wanna another incident like Strawberry. You can’t break out again. That chain can barely keep the Bear at bay... I keep him focused on me, so he doesn’t eat anyone else.” Kieran lifts his head to look Bill in the eyes. Bill is shocked by what he sees. “Please, don’t look at me like that. I only have to do it once a month, so by the time I have to do it again, I’m already healed... It's not the best way to handle this, but it’s somethin’.” Kieran looks confused at Bill’s silence until the bigger man cups his cheek with a soft hand.

“You’re face... Those are mine, aren’t they?” Kieran didn’t have to nod to confirm that those were claw marks defiling his face. The three lacerations running over the bridge of his nose, down his cheek, were too jagged to have been executed by a blade and steady hand. 

“I-It’s not that bad, Bill. Just a scratch. It’ll heal.” Bill frowned. _It’ll scar_. “And that don’t bother me one bit. I ain’t mad about it, or you; it’s my own fault for not gettin’ out the way when I had the chance. It’ll be a reminder of how much of an idiot I can be sometimes.” 

“... Ain’t how I’ll be rememberin’ it.” Bill lays his head back down with a heavy sigh. “Sorry for putting you through all my shit. I hate it all so much... I should have never gone in that goddamn cave.” Kieran stroked his hand through Bill’s hair as he shifts closer. 

_“We’ll be alright, Bill.”_ Kieran’s comforting voice hums through his head. _“We’ll find a better way to cope with this. We may even be able to find a cure if we look hard enough. It won’t be like this forever.”_

_“I hope so. I wanna settle down with you proper. Just us, that thing can rot in hell... The only good it’s for is that I get to hear you sweet talk me in my head.”_ Kieran’s cheeks flush a rosy red as he chuckles flustered, which never fails to make Bill smile. Bill wraps his arm around Kieran and brings him close. _“Thank you, Kieran, for being here with me, keeping me from goin’ mad.”_

_“I wouldn’t wanna be anywhere else, Billy.”_

They close their eyes and kiss each other lovingly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


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